Tiwa sensed the tension and hostility immediately she entered her future mother-in-law’s living room. The tension was so thick; you can slice through it.
She wondered if this is the same woman who she related with on the phone she didn’t understand what was going on.
The hostility didn’t stop with Steve’s mum, his siblings were looking at her like she fell from another planet. The entire scenario was scary. Her only comfort came from the hand Steven wrapped round her waist. He also sensed the tension and he kept whispering into her ears to calm down.
Steven is the first son and the first child of his mum’s five children. God has blessed him to be a blessing to his mother and siblings. Steven loves his mother so much and doesn’t joke with her because she single handedly raised him and his siblings when their father passed on. His youngest sibling was just a few months old when their father died as a result of a land dispute between him and their eldest uncle.
The saddest part however, was the fact that his father’s family threw them out without allowing them access to their father’s property.; even his father’s gratuity from work was taken.
Thank God for his mother’s family members who helped them out and saw to it that they went to school and survived it all.
Tiwa understands the fact that Steven is very close to his mother and siblings and vice versa. She has spoken with them on the phone several times and she was a regular visitor to his youngest siblings school when Steven was outside the country so she could not understand the reason for the sudden tension on her first physical visit.
Steven proposed marriage to her few weeks before then and they both felt it was time for her to meet his immediate family.
Steven met her own family the previous weekend and they welcomed him like as son. She raised her concerns when they were on their way back, but Steven calmed her fears.
Both families agreed on a date for their wedding later and everything went well.
Tiwa still has her reservations, because Stevens family only pretend to relate well with her when Steven was around, once his back is turned, they become so hostile. Only the family’s last born tries to relate well with her, and this has earned her the title of a traitor from the others.
Eventually, Stevens mother came out with what was eating her up and the reason for the deep hostility. Another girl!
She confronted Tiwa one of the afternoons Steve was away. His mum came to stay with them because she needed to see a doctor for an ailment she confessed she was faking.
She told Tiwa that she wanted her son to marry her friends daughter. This was a plan both women had agreed on since the time Steven and the lady were in the University. He changed his attitude towards her because of Tiwa.
Her mother-in-law vowed to make her marriage a living hell for her and she’s been acting it up.
One would ask if we are still in the era of compulsory matchmaking. Shouldn’t Stevens mother leave the young couple alone? Should she be a thorn in the poor young brides flesh? Why does she want to make her a stranger in her home.
What happens to the biblical injunction that two shall become one flesh, leaving father and mother. Does she want to take out what her in-laws did to her on the poor bride.
Our children should be allowed to make their own decisions once they attaina certain age.
It is true that no matter how old a child is he/she remains a child to the parents; but I strongly believe that happiness matters. Parents should not put their adult children in a spot. Don’t force them to make a choice.
Mother’s who for any reason behave like Stevens mother forgets that they have other children whose happiness too could be at stake, also Stevens happiness too is affected because he loves his wife.
And for siblings who join hands with their mother in making a marriage or relationship unbearable, aren’t you getting married one day? Remember as a mother -in-law, you didn’t give birth to or raise your child’s spouse. You should give her a chance.
There’s no gainsaying that sometimes daughter -in-laws too cannot be excused too but as a mother-in-law, you should try all your best to accommodate her.
Mind you, this behavior is not peculiar to women alone. Some father-in-laws for some reasons believe that their daughter is too good for the man she bought home. Why not let her be with her choice?
For whatever it’s worth, parents should encourage their children and help to make their marriage work. As a parent, do not become a thorn in your child’s home. Help them build and create peace
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